Expectations have not been this massive in more than forty years for St. John’s. Coming off a premature Second Round exit in the NCAA Tournament that left a Big East double championship season on a bitter note, the Red Storm are looking to break through that ceiling and go even further in 2026.
Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino acquired an embarrassment of riches in the transfer portal to join preseason conference player of the year Zuby Ejiofor on a team ranked fifth in the preseason AP poll and at the top of the Big East conference.
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Plenty of attention also brings plenty of questions for St. John’s. Can this unit coalesce, or will they struggle to find the right chemistry? Will this team live up to its preseason top-five ranking? Could St. John’s return to the Final Four for the first time since Louie roamed the sidelines or accomplish something it has never done and finally win a National Championship?
The time for prognostication is over. On Monday night, St. John’s opens the curtain to a much-anticipated 2025-26 season when they face the Quinnipiac Bobcats, the favorites to win the MAAC.
Game information
Who: No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats
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When: Monday, November 3, 2025, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York
TV: FS1
Radio: ESPN New York 880 / 1050
Series History: St. John’s leads the all-time series, 2-0. The Red Storm defeated the Bobcats last season, 96-73, after trailing at halftime. RJ Luis, Jr. led the Red Storm with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Injury news
Freshman Imran Suljanovic will miss the remainder of the season with a dislocated patella injury he suffered in mid-October. The 6-foot-8 forward from Vienna, Austria had surgery to repair the injury and will be a medical redshirt this year.
What to watch for in the Storm
Two significant areas St. John’s must show improvement in on Monday night will be in three-point shooting and rebounding, particularly from the guards. During Friday’s media availability, Rick Pitino stressed his guards need to “get tougher,” and he has never had players of this size not rebound the ball through two exhibitions.
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Joson Sanon, Oziyah Sellers, Ian Jackson, and Dylan Darling only combined for seven rebounds across two games versus Towson and Michigan. That same four combined to shoot 4-of-22 from three (18.1 percent) in preseason play, as well. These guards are due for some positive regression in the shooting department, as they combined to hit 17-of-20 (85 percent) from three throws in those two games.
Rick Pitino also has not committed to naming the starting lineup ahead of Monday’s game, but he will likely try out different combinations in these non-conference buy games. If his lineup against Towson is any indication, Pitino could roll out a smaller lineup against a Quinnipiac team that lacks size.
Scouting the Bobcats
Former Fordham head coach Tom Pecora has Quinnipiac well-positioned to make its first-ever NCAA Tournament since transitioning to Division I in 1998. The Bobcats won the MAAC regular season title in each of Pecora’s first two seasons in Hamden, but were bounced by lower-seeds in the conference tournament semifinals both times.
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While teams of Quinnipiac’s stature are often picked apart for talent by bigger programs in the transfer portal — and they weren’t totally immune themselves, losing double-digit scorers Paul Otieno to Saint Louis and Khaden Bennett to Wyoming — the Bobcats have the priceless luxury of retaining a conference player of the year.
Amarri Monroe returns to the Bobbies for his senior year, hoping to become the first player to win back-to-back MAAC Player of the Year awards since Monmouth’s Justin Robinson achieved the feat in 2017. The physical 6-foot-7 forward from Newburgh paced Quinnipiac with 18.1 points per game last season, led the conference with 9.1 rebounds per game, and terrorized opposing offenses by averaging 2.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest.
Monroe saw his shooting efficiency dip considerably last season after becoming the number one option — shooting 40.5% from the field and 27.3% from deep with six more attempts per game than he had in his sophomore year — but he did shoot 47.3% from the floor and 35.1% from three the season prior, so a return to form shooting the rock is in the cards for the Newburgh, New York native.
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St. John’s are hoping to replicate their lockdown performance against Monroe from last season’s meeting when they held him to only four points and a 0-of-9 shooting performance from the field, the first and only game he was held without a make in his Quinnipiac career.
Mid Major Madness contributor and MAAC guru Sam Federman interviewed Monroe about his decision to return in his comprehensive 76-page (!) season preview of the Tri-State’s favorite mid-major basketball conference. If you haven’t checked it out already, please do.
Monroe won’t be the only returning Bobcat on the wings. Sophomore Jaden Zimmerman looks poised to break out this season after averaging 11.0 points and 2.1 rebounds on 45.1% shooting from the field and 34.7% from three in his freshman year. The Bronx native excels at attacking the basket and could take the next step as a genuine deep-range threat this year.
Like the Red Storm, the Bobcats also have question marks at the point guard position. FIU transfer Asim Jones and the returning Ronell Giles, Jr. will take turns initiating the offense. However, Jones only averaged 2.2 assists to 1.8 turnovers last year with the Panthers, while Giles was only a hair better by averaging 2.3 assists to 1.8 turnovers in his last healthy season with Saint Francis (PA) in 2022-23. Each of those guards should at least provide long-range shooting, as they both averaged 35.4% from three in their last full seasons.
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Quinnipiac also boasts a very impressive mixture of length, athleticism, and potential for a mid-major team. Of the four high school recruits committed to the Bobcats in the 2025 class, three of those players (Keith McKnight, Tai Turnage, and Jayden Reid) were ranked as three-stars. UMass transfer and sophomore Nate Guerengomba also joins the group as a former three-star recruit, hoping to realize that potential after playing limited minutes with the Minutemen a season ago.
Keys to the game
Dragon Ball Z (or the DBZ Frontcourt) – Master Rickoshi’s training is paying off. The frontcourt of Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, and Zuby Ejiofor showcased their high power level for Saiyan John’s in the preseason, and the trio will be critical in protecting Earth from threats like BuuConn, Vegetanova, and Friarza. How will those three look together in their first test on Monday? Find out next time on Rumble in the Garden.
Make threes at a respectable clip – You’re probably sick of hearing about the Red Storm’s three-point woes, and I am sure they are, too. This team has too many talented shooters to hit 25 percent or worse from deep in their two scrimmages. Reach a three-point percentage above freezing and start building some rhythm.
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Win the board battle decisively – It wasn’t shocking that St. John’s was outrebounded by a very tall Michigan team last Saturday, but it was a tad concerning that Towson outplayed them on the glass a week prior. Those were exhibition games, but there are no excuses on Monday. St. John’s needs to play Rick Pitino basketball and control the board battle.
Prediction
St. John’s has won 61 of its first 64 season-opening games at Carnesecca Arena. Expect number 62 to come on Monday after some overwhelming physicality in the post and fluid play in transition. Zuby Ejiofor puts together a tidy 15-point, 10-rebound double-double and Dillon Mitchell lights up the crowd with a sky-scraping alley-oop dunk midway through the second half. St. John’s wins, 88-67.
